Picker



March 1954 L. w. CAMPBELL 2,671,473

PICKER Filed Feb. 9, 1952 EIIIHK Patented Mar. 9, 1954 UNITED S TATES PATENT OFFICE -P ICKEB,

'L'eon W. Campbell, Hendersonville, N. C.

Application February 9, 1952, Serial:No. 2,70,85 -7 10 Claims. 1

This invention relates to loom pickers. Since they are the means of transmitting to the shuttle the sudden and powerful force which throws the shuttle across the loom, and also receive a large part of the impact of the thrown shuttle at the end of its flight and bring it to rest, these pickers are subjected to extremely severe wear in the operation of the loom. To insure certainty of engagement between the picker and shuttleboth in throwing and checking the shuttle, so as to prevent it from being thrown out of the loom, as well as to form a pilot on the .shuttle in its flight through the shed, each tapered end of theshuttle is provided with a sharp conical metal point, which has such a destructive action on the leather or rubber or other yielding material of which the conventional picker is made that replacementof pickers is a constantly recurring source of trouble and expense to the mills.

In order to insure certain engagement with the shuttle pointand to center the axis of the shuttle properly with respectto thepicker before thepicking stroke is delivered, a cavity of usually conical shape is pre-formed in the face of the picker for the reception of the shuttle point. However, the location of this cavity presupposes a certain-exact position of the picker at the instant of impact or departure of the shuttle point Which is seldom attainable in practice. This is because suchaxis shifts forward or back in the shuttle box depending on the amount of wear on the twosides of the shuttle, while the elevation of the picker-at such instant depends on the pickers locationon-the picker-stick and the setting of the equalizer or parallel foot of the picker-stick. When'the end of the shuttle point misses the deepest point of such cavity, its destructive efiect on the standard type picker is greatly increased, as is the likelihood of the shuttle being thrown out of the loom.

Additionally, a substantial amount of the energy of impact thus delivered to or by the shuttle through its metallic point is converted into heat, largely-because of the high-frictional coefiicient of theleather or rubber. The result is that the shuttle points get so hot that their shanks shrink the wood in which they are embedded and come loose. This results in shuttle smashes costly and time-consuming in their damage to the warps and lay parts, and requires a new shuttle. It is a serious matter, as it often happens repeatedly in a mill in the course of a day.

The conventional one-piece picker cannot be repaired when worn to the danger point, and must be thrown away.

With .the aim of curing these shortcomings of the conventionalpicken'l have devised a novel and improved form of pickershown in the-ac.- companying drawings and setforth in the f ollowing description'and claims.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shownin the drawings, in which 'Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a top portion of a picker-stick, showing the novel ,picker in working position thereon.

Fig. 2 is a plan view, and :Fig. 3 a -side elevation of the same.

Fig. 4 is an elevation corresponding to l lig. 1 showing the picker in vertical longitudinal. section.

The improved picker comprises a body of synthetic plastic material {where lightness is desired, or otherwise of metal, such as malleable iron, conveniently formed by ,molding. It ,is formed with the usual .loop 3 to iittightly upon the upper end of the picker-sticki being secured in place thereon by a screw 1 asheretofore.

In accordance with the invention, the iace or shuttle-engagingend of th picker comprises a pair of rolls 9 rotatably mounted abreast ,pf each other on pins 1 I. These pins l l are ,each mounted in vertically aligned holes 13 -in lugs l5 integral with the body I, thelwall ll of the recess between the two lugs being concavely curved. Each pin ll hasa large :flat head l,9 at its top end and an annular grooveabout its shank just ,above its lower end, into which'is fitting -a horseshoe-shaped snap washer- 2 l known form which holds the pins in place inth'e lugs.

The rolls 9 are preferably made of,-synthetic plastic, of which I have found nylon to Joe especially suitable. However, for certain rpurposesthey are made of wood, lignum-vitaabei-ng especially adapted for thisuse. In otherlcases, metal rolls are employed,-copperlbeingiadvam tageous through its toughness.

The space between the rolls 9 -;receives the sharp extremity ofthepoint-of the shuttle, and for the average shuttle point is 'madeabout {4 in width. The rounded sllrgaees 9f the rolls :9 presented t t t l 1-po n 'i r vwnrt i guidin surfaces for the sh,uttle point, guiding the latter into thespace -betweentherolls. rolls rotate freely upon their pins H, thus distributing the wear from engagement with the shuttle point all the way around their circumference.

As this wear of the rolls and eventual wear of the shuttle points permit deeper entry of the point through the space between the rolls, the

extremity of the shuttle point encounters the end of an impact block in the form of a plug 23 of plastic such as nylon, or of fiber, leather, or tough cord-filled rubber. This plug thus assumes a part of the burden of propelling and checking the shuttle, diminishing the stress on the rolls as they wear thinner. The increasing depth of entry of the shuttle point distributes the wear on the latter.

Through this construction, deviations of the shuttle axis transversely of the shuttle box through wear of the shuttle sides are compensated for because the curved converging surfaces of the two rolls confronting the shuttle point center the shuttles axis on the vertical central plane of the picker and picker-stick, while differences in relative elevation of the picker and shuttle in no way affect the operation. The width of entrance provided by these curving surfaces is in excess of any likely lateral deviation of the sharp end of the shuttle point. The length of the rolls is such as to exceed the range of possible up-and-down variation of the shuttle point so long as the shuttle stays in the loom and the picker on the picker-stick. There is thus no tendency to throw the shuttle out of the loom.

It is found in practice that this picker does not cause the shuttle points to heat in use, even to an extent uncomfortable to the touch, especially with rolls made of nylon with its known low frictional coefficient, and consequently all loosening of the points in the shuttle from this cause is eliminated.

The destructive action of the sharp end of the shuttle point is minimized or completely eliminated, as it is practically impossible for this sharp end to strike the rolls as it passes between them, because of the space provided between them. If it should occur, the rolls would rotate and divert the blow. Even when the sharp end engages the impact plug 23 following wear, only a minor portion of the impact is borne by such plug, so that this element has a long life. As shuttle points are regularly around at their widest portion, the rolls never engage the wood of the shuttle.

The rolls and the plug are the only parts of the picker subjected to any substantial wear, and when they do wear to a point indicating need for replacement, they are easily renewed merely by pulling out the pins l I and substituting new rolls for the worn ones, which is done in a few moments at little expense while the picker remains in place. Renewal of the plug 23 is eifected by driving it out when necessary and replacing this also with a fresh plug. The body I as is obvious outlasts many such replacements.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but what I do claim is:

1. A loom picker having in combination a body having a loop at one end and a pair of rolls in spaced relation at the other end.

2. A loom picker having in combination a body having a loop at one end and a pair of rolls rotating on vertical axes in spaced relation at the other end.

3. A picker for a loom shuttle having a point thereon, comprising in combination a body and a pair of rolls mounted on the body for engagement with the sides of a shuttle point, the rolls being spaced apart at a distance sufficient to permit the extremity of the point to pass between them without contact of such extremity with the rolls.

4. A picker for a loom shuttle having a point thereon, comprising in combination a body, a pair of rolls mounted on the body for engagement with the sides of a shuttle point, and an impact block mounted on the body.

5. A picker for a loom shuttle having a point thereon, comprising in combination a body, a pair of rolls mounted on the body for engagement with the shuttle point, and an impact block on the body at the far side of the rolls from the shuttle.

6. A picker for loom shuttles equipped with points, having in combination a body having at one end a loop and spaced lugs at the other end, pins extending from one lug to another and mounted in holes in the lugs, and rolls rotatably mounted on the pins and between the lugs for engagement with the sides of a shuttle point.

7. A picker for loom shuttles equipped with points, having in combination a body having at one end a loop and spaced lugs at the other end, pins extending from one lug to another and mounted in holes in the lugs, rolls rotatably mounted on the pins and between the lugs for engagement with the sides of a shuttle point, and a member for engagement with the extremity of a shuttle point, fixed in the body between the loop and the rolls.

8. A picker for loom shuttles having in combination a body formed of molded synthetic plastic having an integral loop, and synthetic plastic rolls mounted on the body in spaced relation to each other to rotate on parallel vertical axes and adapted to engage the shuttle.

9. A picker for loom shuttles equipped with points, having in combination a body and rotatable means thereon providing surfaces movable relatively to the body through engagement with the sides of a shuttle point.

10. A picker for loom shuttles equipped with points, having in combination a body and members rotatably mounted thereon on axes located at each side of the vertical central longitudinal plane of the body, the members receiving the' point of the shuttle between them.

LEON W. CAMPBELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

